大象传媒

I joined the R.A.F.V.R. as a young 20-year-old in 1938-9. Not long afterwards, in September 1939, all reservists were ordered over the air to report to the nearest R.A.F. assembly unit, which I did. With another eleven lads we had to report to Netheravon in Wiltshire. As youngsters we were very excited in spite of the fact that we had to spend Friday night trying to sleep on Waterloo station platform. We eventually arrived at Salisbury station, a bedraggled lot, and thence to Netheravon, Wiltshire.We were eventually sorted out and I finished up as a fitter II on engines.

I had three years on Netheravon and feeling very browned off with the place, I put in for a fitter course on Rolls Royce Merlin engines. I passed the course, hoping to get a different posting, but my world fell apart as I was posted back to Netheravon! But my luck did change as I was posted up country to Innsworth Lane in Gloucester where a new squadron was formed; 242 Spitfire which, along with several other squadrons, formed 322 Wing.

The Wing was posted to North Africa and we set out from a Scots port. We were part of a long convoy of various ships and were not told our destination. Eventually, we arrived at Algiers in North Africa. We disembarked: plenty of chaos, our transport could not get off the ship in time so we had to march ten miles to a port in Algiers called Bone.

We operated from Bone, being frequently attacked by the enemy. Our aircraft had to be serviced under very trying conditions, but we had to get on with it. On one occasion we finished up with one servicable aircraft.

I was thankfully demobbed in November 1945.

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